


Strange Things (Are Happening)

by DontMindMeNow



Category: Frozen (2013), Indiana Jones Series, Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story Series (Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Amnesia, Angst, Fish out of Water, Gen, With A Twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 16:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1434532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontMindMeNow/pseuds/DontMindMeNow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa awakens to find herself in a strange new world, where her powers are gone, her memory blanks out after the Great Thaw, her sister and her people are missing, and all the furniture is of gigantic proportions. Things only get stranger when she encounters a certain band of talking toys, who insist that she is one of them. Can Elsa handle the truth of her situation?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everything Seems Small

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa finds herself in a new world, with no memory of how she wound up there.

Blackness. Elsa was in blackness. Nothing but shapes and vague, blank memories floating in and out of her view, a mess of confusing noises, all unintelligible, all meaningless. She couldn’t see. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. As though she had been returned to the womb itself.  
  
And she had no idea how long she’d been like this.  
  
Suddenly, a blinding light flooded in, and an unseen force was pulling, lifting Elsa out of the darkness.  
  
She started to feel real sensations again. The voices were still unintelligible, and the shapes still blurred, but as Elsa came into consciousness it became clearer that they were from the outside world, not her own head as before.  
  
The force that had removed her from her prison was now working on her hands, loosening something that had been restraining her. Then it repeated the exercise on her legs, and across her torso.  
  
As Elsa started to make out different colors of the new world around her, the force finished removing her restraints and had lifted her up, and she could feel herself being swung through the air. Her consciousness started to come into focus, and her first thoughts questioned why she wasn’t resisting this action.  
  
Her hearing slowly became clearer, though more quickly than her eyesight, and she heard a distant noise, like someone calling. Elsa couldn’t understand what the voice was saying. A louder, childish voice responded from much closer by.  
  
“But Mom, I just opened it up!”  
  
The distant voice spoke again, and this time Elsa made it out. It seemed to say, “Come on Bonnie, let’s go!”  
  
The louder voice let out a pout, and Elsa suddenly found herself in freefall. She landed on a soft, cushion-like surface. She blinked, and her vision came into full focus just in time for her to see a large figure – presumably the source of the loud voice, and possibly the force that had freed her – leave the room.  
  
Elsa sat, baffled and confused, able to see and feel and think, but unable to process the world around her. Then her memories came flooding back.  
  
The night with Anna, making snowmen. Freezing Anna’s head. The trolls. The years of isolation. The coronation. Hans. Running away. The ice palace. Freezing Anna’s heart. Almost becoming a monster. The dungeon. The frozen fjord. Her sister’s statue. The shock made her convulse and shudder with agony.  
  
A final, more peaceful memory made its way back to Elsa, that of breaking the curse and reconciling with Anna. And that was it. Her memories ended with her day with Anna on the ice-skating rink.  
  
That’s it? she wondered. How could my memory end there? What happened? Where’s Anna? How did I get…  
  
Elsa’s anxiety about her sudden amnesia subsided when she recalled the events that had just taken place.  
  
…here?  
  
Where is here?  
  
She sat up and oriented herself, scanning the room around her. She was baffled. The room was enormous, as large as any of the grand halls of her castle, even the ballroom. But more terrifying than that was that the room was filled with gigantic furniture. Every couch and chair looked like it was intended for someone of monstrous proportions. Her mind thought of the horrible, man-eating giants of the stories she’d read as a child. Jack and his beanstalk. Could it be real? Could she be in the home of a giant in the clouds?  
  
Evidently not in the clouds, she noted as she spied the window and the view outside. She could see grass, and bright sun, and trees. She also noticed a strange, black, paved terrain that she had never seen before. But that was far from the most pressing concern at the moment.  
  
There were two couches, one of which she was sitting on, and a chair. There was a small table positioned parallel to her couch. On it, there was a box about Elsa’s size, which looked as though it had been broken into already. There was a clear, thin material covering the box’s interior, and on the top the word “Gisney” was styled in fanciful font, although Elsa couldn’t comprehend why the “G” appeared to be positioned backwards. Another moment of thought allowed Elsa to realize that must have been the prison she had been enclosed in. Those strange straws next to it must have been her restraints.  
  
So it was one of the giants that had freed her. But then another one had called it away. And now Elsa was alone in their home.  
  
Am I alone? Elsa had no idea how she got here, after all; she might not be the only one they had captured.  
  
Oh no, Elsa thought, cursing her inconveniently malfunctioning memory. Had they invaded Arendelle? Had they taken citizens? Had they laid waste to the nation?  
  
Had they taken Anna?  
  
Terror flooded through Elsa. Even after her analysis, she still had no idea where she was, no idea how she had gotten there, no idea what the giants had in store for her if they returned. But more importantly, she had no idea who else was with her, or where the people she cared about were.  
  
She pushed the horrifying thoughts of what these monsters might have done to her sister, and the general populace, aside. This was no time for panic. She needed to think. She needed to act. It was time to start moving.  
  
She looked down. If she jumped off the couch, she would break her legs. A snow cushion would work nicely, she mused. She stretched out her arms and fired a blast of snow, to soften the impact.   
  
Except she didn’t. No blast of ice came from her hands as it always had. Perplexed, Elsa tried again. Nothing. Two more tries. Both misfires. What is happening?  
  
Could the giants have found a way to neutralize her power? Just when she had learned to control it, it was gone. Why? Why now?  
  
This just got a whole lot harder.  
  
Elsa didn’t have time to think. New plan. The table was close enough for her to climb across. From there, she could slide down one of the legs. She stood up, and gently stretched across to the table.  
  
Grasping the edge, she pulled herself across to the other side. Hanging on, she wrapped her own legs around that of the table. Once she was firmly secure, she let go and grabbed the leg, and gently slid down to the carpeted floor below.  
  
Standing up, she was surprised at herself. She was feeling adventurous. She wondered if this is what it felt like to be Anna.  
  
Anna.  
  
She looked around. There was a hardwood floor ahead that she ran to. This appeared to be the hall. Several rooms lined both sides, with a staircase at the end. She listened. There was no sign that there were any active giants about.  
  
Doesn’t mean one couldn’t be sleeping. She had to be cautious. A nagging thought warned her about the foolhardiness of going deeper into the giants’ fortress. But she couldn’t find her way home alone, and she couldn’t abandon anyone who was being held captive with her.  
  
A sudden, loud noise came from the ceiling above her. So something was upstairs. Elsa decided that getting a better idea of what she was up against would be a good idea. In retrospect, Elsa noted that this was a foolish idea, one that could have gotten her killed had her suspicions proved accurate, but then again, rescue missions were hardly her area of expertise. This is why Arendelle has knights, Elsa mused.  
  
She reached the end of the stairwell and pulled herself to the top of each step. She was nearly halfway up the spiraled staircase when she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks. An enormous, terrifying dog, as big as the largest elk, sound asleep five steps above her.  
  
Elsa had never seen a dog up close before, certainly not a giant monster like this. Though she did notice that, were it proportioned normally, it actually would have been a smaller breed. It had light, grayish-brown fur on its face, and a darker gray coat covering its back. It appeared sound asleep.  
  
Elsa considered the possibility that the dog had been the source of the noise she had heard previously, and that it may be wise to turn around. But she was determined to know for sure. Her entire experience since she had been released was nothing but uncertainty, and she wanted to be certain of at least one thing.  
  
So, quiet and cautious, she snuck past the dog and continued on to the top of the staircase.  
  
There were two rooms at the top. To her left, the door was wide open, and the room was dark. There was clearly no one there. The other room had a mostly-closed door, was lit, and there was definite sound coming from it. Against her better judgment, she peered through the crack.  
  
Elsa was astounded. It looked like a child’s room, with a single bed, green wallpaper, and some windows – but what was far more shocking was the fact that the room was filled with walking, talking toys.  
  
Some looked fairly human, although they were wearing strange outfits and were oddly proportioned; then there were more curious ones, such as what looked to be toy dogs, toy dinosaurs, toy hedgehogs, toy pigs; it was a veritable wonderland.  
  
What sort of place is this?  
  
Elsa hadn’t realized how much pressure she was placing on the door, and it slid open. She fell forward and landed on her face. The room fell silent. Slowly she lifted her head and saw that the entire room of toys was staring at her. After a brief silence, the big green dinosaur spoke first.  
  
“A new toy!”  
  
Toy?  
  
Cheers erupted around the room, confusing Elsa further. Before they could rush her, however, one toy, a human-esque toy with a yellow suit and broad brown hat, quickly got in front of them and calmed them down. He then approached Elsa, slowly extending a hand as Elsa started to withdraw.  
  
“Well howdy there! My name’s Sheriff Woody, and welcome to Bonnie’s room!”


	2. What Do I Not Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa discovers some strange things about toys.

Elsa’s sensory input levels had gone critical. She was seeing, she was hearing, but her mind was overloaded with so much new information that she couldn’t process anything. Giants, no powers, strange world, friends and family gone, and now talking toys…

 

Talking toys that thought she was one of them…

 

_No. That’s not true. That’s impossible. None of this is real. Something’s happening. I don’t understand what. But something._

There was so much Elsa needed to ask, needed to shout, needed to demand, needed to understand. But she couldn’t manage more than a meek statement.

 

“You’re toys. You’re _talking toys._ ”

 

Woody’s smile faltered, and Elsa noted confusion and possible concern on his face. “Well… yeah. We are.” He was genuinely uncertain on what to make of her words. “Um… well, what’s your name, new fella?”

 

“How.”

 

“Sorry?”

 

“ _How_ are you alive?” Elsa asked, hints of panic and confusion in her voice. “How are you talking like that? Toys aren’t alive. They’re inanimate objects… is this a spell? Are you enchanted? How… how is this possible?”

 

“Um…” Woody looked backward toward the crowd helplessly. What was going on? Did she not know? How could she not know? No toy had ever believed that they were real… except…

 

He looked up on the bed behind him, where Buzz was standing with Jessie and Bullseye. He motioned, and Buzz slid off the bed and walked up beside him.

 

Taking a deep breath, Woody turned back to Elsa. “There’s… there’s no magic here. Nothing sinister like that.” Noticing she was still clearly distressed, he said, “Please, just try to relax.”

 

Realizing she was starting to hyperventilate, Elsa took a deep breath as well, and slowly calmed herself down. Woody spoke again. “Now, could you tell us who you are?”

 

“I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle. I don't know how I came here. But somehow, I have wound up shrunk down to your size, I’ve lost my ability to generate ice, I’ve lost my memory of everything that has happened since I took up my royal position, I was just released from a box I was imprisoned in, and I do not know where my subjects are or if my kingdom is in danger. I _need help_. Please tell me you can explain.”

 

Whispers broke out from the crowd, each of which just further confused Elsa, but enlightened Woody on what he was dealing with.

 

_“Elsa…”_

_“From that movie… Frozen…”_

_“The one Bonnie won’t stop talking about…”_

_“Bonnie’s mom must have finally broke down…”_

_“Her birthday’s not even for another week, why’s she open already?”_

_“And she thinks she’s real? Like Buzz did?”_

 

Woody and Buzz looked at each other knowingly. Turning back to Elsa, Woody spoke again.

 

“There’s no easy way to tell you what I need to tell you.” Elsa gasped, fearing the worst.

 

“Elsa… you are a toy.”

 

“What? I was turned into a toy?”

 

“Well, yes and no…”

 

“Hold on, Woody.” Buzz stepped forward. “Elsa, you’re a toy based on a character from a story. A fictional character. Your memories aren’t your own, they’re from the character you’re based on.”

 

Elsa’s voice broke. “ _No…”_

 

But Buzz went on. “All toys are alive, Elsa. We just can’t show it in front of real people, that’s why they don’t know. Usually toys come with blank memories, to be filled with the experiences they’ll have. But sometimes, toys based on story characters will have the memories of that character. This happened to me, too. No one realized it. I went around for days thinking I was a real Space Ranger and…”

 

Elsa buckled to her knees, stunned. “No… no… _no….”_

 

Woody pushed Buzz aside. “Sorry Buzz, but this isn’t helping her. Elsa, if this is too much at once…”

 

Elsa looked up, miserable. “Please, Sheriff… I need a moment. Alone.”

 

Woody understood. “Alright.” He turned and motioned the crowd away.

 

Elsa cupped her face in her hands, and as she moved her arms she noticed something strange on her back. She tugged and saw a cloth tag, bearing the same backwards-G _Gisney_ logo from the box.

 

_Arendelle’s not real. My powers aren’t real. My memories aren’t real…_

_Anna’s not real._

_Anna was never real._


	3. Fears that Once Controlled Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa finds that she's not alone - at least, not in spirit.

To say that Woody was a little upset with the turn of events was a serious understatement. He was fuming. He grabbed Buzz by the wrist and dragged him back behind the bed, and subsequently began shouting in hushed tones.

 

“ _What did you do?!_ Why would you do that? Do you not know how to break something gently? You can’t just drop a bombshell like that on her! Did you not notice how stressed she clearly was even _before_ you started in on her? Oh wow, Buzz, just… _why?_ ”

 

Buzz, more than a little frustrated himself, was quick with a response. “Woody, you know full well that I’m the only toy here who understands what she’s going through. You know why I had to break it to her all at once. You saw what I was like. _I_ saw what I was like when I ran into that Buzz at Al’s Toy Barn years ago. I was deluded. Raving. A mockery that everyone was laughing at behind my back…”

 

“Buzz, you know that was a mistake…”

 

“I don’t blame you, Woody. You didn’t know. How could you, you’d never seen a toy with false memories before. You didn’t even realize you were _from_ a show. But now we know. And to let Elsa suffer, to let her go for days believing she’s a real queen who’s lost everything would be cruel.”

 

“Buzz, I get it. I get what you were trying to do. But you have to do something to ease the pain! She was already distressed, and telling her all at once that all toys are alive, that _she’s_ a toy, and that _all her memories are fake_ just amplified that stress tenfold! I’m shocked she didn’t faint! Don’t you remember how you acted when you found out? You spent a solid day in despair at Sid’s home!”

 

“I know that taking it slower would have softened the blow, but it would have just dragged out the pain! Besides, if she didn’t figure it out quickly, we’d risk her acting out in front of Bonnie!”

 

“Oh, please, it’s not like you were doing your Space Ranger routine in front of Andy!”

 

“That was different! In character, I was a calm observer, so it made sense for me to stay in place in front of Andy! Elsa was panicking and irrational, and she seemed convinced that there was some kind of evil magic or something going on here! She would’ve lost it in front of Bonnie! Then what?!”

 

“Buzz, I get that, but… wait… what did Bonnie’s mom say they were doing tonight?”

 

“Um… I think they were going out to see a movie… _Hobbit 2_ or something…”

 

“Is that a long movie?”

 

“I think so, but it’s been three hours since they left already…”

 

“Elsa’s up here… and Bonnie left her down there.” Woody gulped. “We need to get her downstairs. Fast.”

 

……………………………………

_Conceal it. Don’t feel it. Conceal it. Don’t feel it._

 

Somehow, her father’s classic calm-down technique was still applicable even with the loss of the ice powers. It was still applicable even knowing that it was meaningless, and her father was simply a figment of her imagination.

 

She felt guilt for letting the mantra take control of her, knowing the only moments she could feel happy were when she expressed herself, when she let herself feel. She could sense the disappointment Anna would have in her, seeing her sister close herself up like this. As if her sacrifice on the fjord was hollow and meaningless.

 

_Yet wasn’t it? If Anna never truly existed…_

_  
_**No.** She couldn’t let herself think that. She couldn’t throw away the lessons of the coronation incident. She owed Anna a debt she could never repay. The least she could do was preserve her memory.

 

Anna was the only thing she did believe in anymore.

 

Elsa felt her “ice dress”, clearly not made of ice (it was some fabric that was alien to her). She looked at her tag. So she was a toy. _So what?_ Anna would say. _That’s no reason to give up. It’s just a new adventure, and just because I can’t have it with you doesn’t mean it’s a bad one._

_But I never had an adventure with you,_ Elsa thought in reply.

 

The Anna-voice in her head replied back. _Don’t dwell on the past. Let it go. If you keep me in your memory, without despairing over me, then this will be my adventure just as much as yours. After all, I’m a part of you just as you’ve been a part of me._

She continued. _As long as you exist, I’ll exist. I promise. Now go. Go be a toy. And don’t forget to have fun doing it._

Elsa smiled. Anna always knew just the right things to say.

 

She stood up. Some of the toys smiled to see her on her feet again. She noticed Woody and Buzz running to her.

 

“Elsa,” Woody said. “I truly apologize for what has happened, but I’m afraid we must get you back!”

 

“Sheriff, it’s not a problem… wait, get me back?”

 

“Back downstairs. Bonnie will be home soon, and you need to be right where she left you. Otherwise she’ll know!”

 

“Where did she leave you?” Buzz interjected. “It wasn’t on one of the tall tables, was it?”

 

“No, it was on one of the couches.”

 

“Oh, good.” Buzz replied. “That shouldn’t be too hard to get back too.”

 

The trio slipped through the door and started down the stairs. When they came back to the dog, Woody simply acted indignant.

 

“Oh great, he’s asleep again. Move, Elwood!”

 

The dog’s eyes opened. He yawned, stretched, and obediently shuffled down the steps. The toys followed behind.

 

The group reached the living room, where they helped hoist Elsa back to her position on the sofa. The two told Elsa to wait for Bonnie, and assured her she would bring her back upstairs when she returned.

 

Lying down, Elsa mused on her situation for a short while, before the door opened and she heard Bonnie’s excited voice.

 

“Wow! That dragon was so scary! But so cool!”

 

Elsa listened to Bonnie talking to her family – the dragon was apparently part of something called a “movie” – before Bonnie remembered what she was doing when she left. Excitedly, she bounded off to the sofa, grabbed Elsa, and ran upstairs with her.

 

_Perhaps this won’t be so bad after all._


	4. Test the Limits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa finds that playtime with Bonnie isn't what she expected. Includes a cameo even the author wasn't expecting!

Elsa couldn’t help but feel she was being treated with a little less regality than was expected of someone of her stature, but then again, she was rather new to the experience of being manhandled by a gigantic child. On the other hand, it seemed that she was feeling a strange sort of enjoyment. Bonnie’s energy radiated into Elsa, with the mere contact of the child creating an odd feeling of ecstasy.

 

 _Is this what being played with is supposed to feel like?_ Elsa wondered. _We haven’t even gotten all the way upstairs yet!_

 

Granted, Elsa had a fairly restricted knowledge of what it felt like to enjoy time with others. Still, she knew enough to realize that this was something completely different. It wasn’t merely that she was excited to be in Bonnie’s company; it felt like rejuvenation. Much later, after she learned about the idea of electricity, Elsa came to describe the sensation as being “recharged”, a sentiment shared by Woody and his fellows.

 

Elwood, now fully awake and roaming the house, scattered as Bonnie bolted straight for her room, throwing open the door and ignoring her mother’s distant voice saying _no running in the house_. She flopped onto the bed, Elsa in hand, and quickly started belting out a tune Elsa had some familiarity with.

 

**Let it go! Let it go! Can’t hold it back anymo-o-ore! Let it go! Let it go! Turn away and slam the door!**

 

Elsa noted that Bonnie was some distance from achieving perfect pitch, and had rather questionable intonation. _Then again_ , she thought to herself, _can **I** even be sure that **I** still have my singing? It seems like I could have a tough time with the intricacies of vocalization when I have no lungs._

Elsa then took a moment to mentally remind herself that she was, in fact, a _walking, talking, living toy_ , and probably shouldn’t spend an absurd amount of time questioning the details of her existence. Best to just get on with living.

 

Bonnie briefly laid Elsa aside in order to reach across her bed, picking Woody off of the floor. She rolled back over, grabbed Elsa, and quickly struck up a conversation between the two.

 

“Well howdy there, little lady!” mimicked Bonnie, shaking Woody a bit. “You’ve got some mighty strange dress for someone down in this part of the west! What’s your name?”

 

“Well I’ll be”, squeaked Bonnie, in a voice that Elsa found brutally dissimilar to her own, and entirely unbecoming of her character. “My name’s Elsa, and I think I’ve got myself pretty darn lost! This doesn’t look anything like Arendelle!”

 

“Now, I don’t know too much about this Arendelle,” Bonnie-as-Woody replied, “but I know a couple of Elsa’s and they aren’t none too friendly! One of them tried to steal from my good friend Indiana Jones!” Bonnie leapt off her bed and pulled a small figurine of a lightly bearded man with a whip off of the windowsill.

 

“That’s right!” said Bonnie, imitating the newcomer. “Those Elsa’s are nothing but trouble.”

 

As all this happened, Elsa felt a strange sensation overcome her. Her eyes were starting to glaze over, and Bonnie and the bed fell slowly out of focus. Suddenly, she couldn’t feel Bonnie there at all, and saw the landscape reform in front of her. _Huh?_ She was baffled to find she was suddenly in some kind of strange wooden tavern – a _saloon_ , as the word suddenly occurred to her, despite having no foreknowledge of what a saloon was – and saw Woody and… Mr. Jones, was it? They were standing directly in front of her, and they were no longer merely being shaken by Bonnie, but talking in their own voices – yet Elsa realized that they were still speaking the child’s words.

 

And so was she.

 

“How dare you try to judge me? I’m not one of your “other Elsa’s”, Mr. Jones, I am a _Queen_ , and a highly respectable woman!”

 

“That’s _Dr._ Jones to you, miss Queen Elsa, and I don’t like your attitude!”

 

“Now hold on, just hold on!” said Woody. “Let’s just see if Elsa here can prove herself special! Well, Elsa?”

 

“As much as I can’t believe you men think you can just order me to do things,” replied Elsa, “I think now would be a perfect time to show off my _ice powers!_ ”

 

 _Ice powers?_ thought Elsa. _Oh no! I can’t do my ice powers!_

 

Dr. Jones wasn’t having it. “Pfft. Ice powers, that’s rich. What kind of woman has ice—”

 

Elsa suddenly felt her powers coursing through her, and blasted a sheet of ice from her fingertips, pinning Dr. Jones right against the saloon wall.

 

“Wow!” exclaimed Woody. “Now those are some ice powers if I ever saw any! My, my, missy, you really are something special!”

 

Elsa smirked. “Meh,” remarked Dr. Jones, trying to shrug off his embarrassment. “I’ve seen the Holy Grail. This is everyday for me.”

 

“You saying you want some more?” Elsa snapped cheekily.

 

“I think that’s enough for today, ma’am,” replied Jones, giving her a cocky grin.

 

Suddenly Elsa heard a voice from far away, stating _Bonnie I made some cookies are you going to have any?_ The world dissolved in front of her, fading back into Bonnie’s room. Now she was just a toy again, with Woody and Dr. Jones in the girl’s other hand. Gently she laid them all down, remarking on how fun that was and how they really must do it again some time, before bolting down the stairs. The faraway voice again told Bonnie that she _really needs to stop running in the house_.

 

With the child out of the room, Elsa slumped backward, slowly regaining her senses. Feebly, she tried to work her ice magic again, with no success. “What on Earth was that!” she blurted out loud.

 

Woody got up and walked over to her, extending a warm hand to help her get up. “That, _miss Elsa_ ” he said, imitating Bonnie’s Woody-voice, “was playtime. Exciting, isn’t it?”

 

“You can say that again,” Elsa replied. “I never played with toys very much, but that was never quite what it felt like to me.”

 

“Always depends on the imagination,” said Woody with a grin. “Now come on, you should meet Indiana for real. He’s not quite the, ah, well, _chauvinist_ he was in that little scenario.” He motioned her over to Dr. Jones.

 

“Pleased to meet you,” said Elsa, unsure of whether she should shake his hand, given the size difference between them, but holding it out nonetheless. Indiana took it, and said “Ma’am”, with the same cheeky grin he was wearing before.

 

Before proper introductions could be made, the trio heard Bonnie heading upstairs, and quickly flopped back into their prior positions, awaiting round two.


	5. Agony to Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa mulls over what she knows is and isn't real while Bonnie sleeps.

Frozen stiff on the shelf, Elsa stared up toward the ceiling, uncertain of whether she should risk attempting to move.

 

On the one hand, Bonnie was still there, albeit asleep. A moment of carelessness could easily alert her. And the door was shut. There wasn’t anywhere to go except inside of the room she was already in. She was also fairly high on the shelf; even if she didn’t clumsily fall the toy equivalent of several stories onto the floor and make a racket, she still didn’t have a good way of getting back to where she was. At best, she could have pretended that she had simply fallen off the shelf, but even that could be fairly suspicious. And none of the other toys in the room were making a peep; she probably would earn the ire of some of them if she started trying to cheat the system.

 

On the other hand, being forced to lie perfectly still for hours without being able to truly fall asleep was nothing short of pure agony.

 

 _What are toys supposed to do each night?_ she wondered. _Reflect on the day? Remember playtime? Wait in anticipation? Or just glaze over into some sort of catatonia?_

 

If the latter option was a possibility, the technique for doing so was certainly unknown to her, as she cursed her inability to simply fall asleep. Then again, perhaps even if she could sleep in this state, she wouldn’t be able to anyway. Her mind was abuzz, still processing the gravity of her newfound situation. She wondered how long it could take her to ever come to terms with what she’d learned, if it was even possible.

 

_I’m a toy. I’m a toy. I’m a toy. I’m a toy. I’m a toy. I’mAToy. I’mAToy. Imatoy imatoy imatoy imatoy imatoy…_

That simple truth was running through her brain so many times it was losing all sense of meaning, but she was still unable to come to any sort of terms with it. It just felt like some sort of horrid dream. One with pleasures, to be sure, but one that should almost certainly end with her waking up in her bed at Arendelle, scratching her head at the absurdity of what she just imagined and telling Anna all about it. Anna would laugh, thinking of it as a cute story and then telling her about her own strange dreams.

 

Elsa’s only clear memories were of the coronation and its aftermath, while also having a memory of Anna’s accident and flashes of her youth behind closed doors. Yet Elsa felt like her mind was trying to fill in the gaps. It made sense, after all; if Anna truly was a figment of her imagination, a fictional creation, wouldn’t Elsa have to invent the details of her life herself?

 

Making the most of her fragmented memory, Elsa had managed to build up an image of her sister from the shards of information given to her. A soft, yet determined soul, who could set her mind to any goal she wanted, and who put those she loved in front of herself no matter what. Who could sit patiently outside a door for years and passionately pour out the details of her life until she got a response. Who could chase her sister up a mountain to stop her from destroying herself. Who would throw herself in front of a blade…

 

Elsa shuddered. Of all the memories to remember, it had to be that one. The moment when her soul ripped itself into tiny shreds and blew away in the wind. All she had in her memory were examples of Anna’s perfections and her own failings. She wished she could remember more of her sister’s idiosyncrasies. The things that humanized her. Her mind was rewriting Anna into an idol. She was losing all sense of who her sister was.

 

Elsa needed Anna to be her companion, not her goddess.

 

She remembered what misery used to feel like. Ice would crawl the walls around her, pointing jagged spikes toward her. Her tears could freeze on her own face. She would repeat her father’s mantra endlessly, desperately trying to rein herself back. She felt herself being eaten alive by her own fears, chilling her to the bone far more effectively than her powers ever could have.

 

Even without her powers, Elsa felt the experience wasn’t actually that different as a toy. The creeping sense of helplessness took the place of the ice, and she had to mightily restrain herself from crying out in the night. She disappointed Anna once again, slipping into _Conceal, Don’t Feel_ again and again in her mind. And, as always, she could see her fear coming to swallow her, break her, mold her into its own shape.

 

 _Anna, if only you were here._ Her sister’s companionship was all she needed. It had kept her sane for so many years. It had given her something to look forward to each day, even as she dreaded the prospect of accidentally responding. She hated the cruelty of her mind, blanking out on all but the worst of her memories and ending with her reconciliation. Just on the verge of finally being able to have a real relationship with the sibling who loved her unconditionally, she was ripped away into a new existence, where the first thing she learned was that that sibling was a mere figment of the mind.

 

Elsa silently cursed the sun as it started to shine through the windows, as if to taunt her, to remind her that what she was going through was no dream. She was a toy. Everyone she ever knew wasn’t going to be there today, or any day after, She was a child’s plaything, and her sad, strange little story had been made as simply some sort of entertainment, as phony as the dragon from Bonnie’s movie.

 

It did provide a slight bit of amusement when Elsa realized why she had found playtime so pleasurable. After all, it was clear that she took the most pleasure in what was false. Maybe that wasn’t really especially humorous, but by then Elsa just wanted to laugh. Anything would do.


	6. Put on a Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa gets a second chance to introduce herself.

Bonnie had left for school. The toys were gathering up for a short meeting, with Woody at the head. Woody had instituted he meetings shortly after arriving at Bonnie's home, and though he had initially intended for the meetings to mimic those he conducted at Andy's years before, they were generally much less formal (thanks in part to the absence of Mr. Spell and Mr. Microphone) and were generally reserved only for special events.

Woody felt that Elsa's appearance and befuddling introduction had certainly qualified as meeting material.

Though Elsa had been far too lost in her own thoughts and inner torment to notice, there had been a number of whispers amongst the toys the previous night. Plenty of toys had left rather striking first impressions upon their arrival in Bonnie's room – Woody himself being among them – but nothing quite matched Elsa's failure to recognize her own state as a toy, and her absolute despair upon being told what she was. Many toys were worried she was unstable, while others though she simply needed time to adjust. Mr. Pricklepants, as a matter of fact, believed that she was simply an outstanding actress, putting on the performance of a lifetime for the benefit of complete strangers.

At any rate, Elsa had caused a stir in Bonnie's room that needed to be addressed, both to assuage the others' concerns and give Elsa a better chance to make friends. The toys had gathered around the side of Bonnie's bed in a semicircle, while Woody stood slightly above them on part of the frame.

"All right, all right, settle down now," Woody began. "I'm very glad to see all of you could make it today, I know we had some events planned…"

"No kidding," Hamm muttered to Rex. "Those toy Lambos won't drag race themselves! I mean, they usually do, but…"

Woody spoke sharply, silencing Hamm. "BUT we've had a new guest arrive here, and I believe some of you thought that, after yesterday, she needed a nicer, softer Bonnie's room welcome. So, without further delay, I'd like to invite Elsa up here to say hello!"

The toys' heads all turned as Elsa stood up, having been hidden near the back of the crowd previously. Sheepishly she slunk around the outside of the curve and hesitantly climbed atop the frame. Woody gave her a smile, stepped down and gave her the floor.

"I'm not sure I quite know… where to begin," said Elsa, hesitating and stalling as she searched her mind. Woody had told her about this, and she had agreed to talk, but she was still fishing for something that would work as a satisfactory speech. Eventually she decided on some basic ground to cover and resumed.

"As most of you know, I'm Queen… I'm Elsa, of… uh, never mind. You met me yesterday, but I still don't know most of you, and I hope that changes soon. Many of you also noticed that I acted a bit… well, strange when I first met you yesterday, and I appreciate the concern some of you have shown me since then. And… it's true. I do have memories from another life."

She paused, trying to think of the best place to go from there.

"But I… I do realize that these are… not me. That I… I… I…" Her head fell, and she sighed. When she noticed Woody and Buzz urging her to continue, she slowly looked up.

"But that's not what's important. What's important is that I'm here, with you. That I can get to know you, and that I know that I can have all kinds of… fun that I never knew before. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me, and I think we'll have a good time together. Thank you."

Elsa stepped down as the audience applauded softly. Though not everyone was convinced Elsa was feeling better, most of the toys decided that she wasn't unstable, and, at worst, was merely shocked and upset. With that in mind, many of the toys quickly rushed up to greet Elsa, including Rex, Trixie, Totoro and Jessie.

"Well howdy there," said Jessie, vigorously shaking Elsa's hand. "Not sure I ever met anyone considered royalty before, but I must say it is an honest pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure's all mine," Elsa started to say, but was interrupted when she felt the wet slap of a horse's tongue against her backside. She collapsed into giggles as the horse proved her ticklish beyond any sort of reasonable doubt.

"She won't be laughing so hard when she finds out whose tongue is the reason why everyone's shoes are so shiny," commented Hamm.

"And that right there's Bullseye," continued Jessie, "and he ain't gonna stop that till you fight him off."

Woody whistled. The other toys turned and looked. "I'd just like to thank Elsa for being so willing to talk up here, and I encourage all of you to get to meet her." Woody went on for a while afterwards about some topics of varying importance, but the other toys were growing increasingly distracted, as nearly everyone's interest in house business had faded once Elsa stepped down. A few minutes later, the meeting ended, and everyone dispersed.


	7. Open Up the Gates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa gets a tour of the house from Buzz and Jessie.

It had taken a decent amount of coercion from Buzz and Jessie to prevent Elsa from cornering Hamm and interrogating him for everything he knew about Frozen, but the three had left Bonnie’s room and were now heading downstairs with Bullseye by their side. The two figured the best way to get Elsa’s mind off of what she had lost was to show her the whole new world she had to explore, and had resolved to give her the full tour themselves.

“Now I’m not usually keen on going down these big stairs myself,” Jessie was saying, “but it’s always easy to go when you need to. You won’t meet any other toys down here, of course, but you might run into… Hey Elwood!”

The big dog bounded up the steps and bowled Jessie over, giving her a big wet kiss and slobbering all over her. “Ack! Get off me, you big dope! Buzz!”

Buzz commented to Elsa that he had learned it was generally best not to try to take on Elwood and that he’d get bored pretty quickly.

“Hmph. I bet you’d help me if you were in Spanish mode.”

“That’s funny. I wasn’t aware of the Spanish penchant for putting oneself in pointless mortal danger.” (Buzz later explained to Elsa that Elwood had a tendency to pull the limbs off of toys that were annoying him when he was excited.)

Elwood bounded away, and Jessie got up coughing and sputtering. “Yechh,” she groaned, “he’s a maniac. Every time he does that I miss Buster more and more.”

“Let’s continue, shall we?” interjected Buzz, noticing that Elsa was giggling uncontrollably as she watched Jessie wipe dog saliva off of her face. Probably best not to let Jessie notice.

“Gladly,” Jessie remarked with some lingering bitterness. She soon got over it as the group continued down the stairs, eventually coming to the lounge where Elsa had first been opened. Elsa noticed that it hadn’t been cleaned since last night, since her box was still lying on the coffee table. Just the same as before, backwards-G Gisney logo and all.

“So,” Elsa asked timidly, “are either of you from one of these movies? Or shows? I remember you said yesterday that…”

“I’m from a show, yes. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. It’s a rather silly little series where I’m a Space Ranger who fights to save the universe from an evil emperor named Zurg. When I first woke up I was convinced I was on a mission to an uncharted planet and thought all the other toys here were strange locals.”

“I wasn’t around back when that happened, but I heard he flew all around the room that first day,” whispered Jessie, a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Ah, yes, that’s a good point to bring up, actually,” said Buzz. “You see, not all of us are originally Bonnie’s toys. Woody, Hamm, Rex, the Potato Heads and I once belonged to a boy named Andy, while Jessie and Bullseye came to Andy’s from a toy collector.”

Jessie shuddered. “If there’s one thing you should be glad for, be glad you’re here and not at a collector’s. Glass cases are no place for a toy. God forbid a toy ever getting used to being an exhibit, like I almost did.”

Elsa squirmed. Maybe she’d been too deep in her own self pity, but she hadn’t ever thought of any of these other toys as anything but happy with their lives. She’d thought herself to be the odd one out, the only toy to not be enjoying herself. But maybe her reference pool was still a bit small.

“And are you… also from a show?”

Jessie perked up with a big grin. “Yes ma’am! Woody’s Roundup, where Woody, Bullseye and I had the wildest adventures this side of the Mississippi! Yee-haw! Nothing but rootin’, tootin’ and shootin’ for every second, beginning to end!”

“She’s a bit excitable, if you didn’t notice,” muttered Buzz.

Elsa smirked. “I think I’ve got a bit of experience when it comes to excitable people.”

Excitable Jessie may be, but she paled in comparison to Bullseye, who quickly joined in on the act and started bounding around the room, eventually coming around and giving Elsa a big kiss on the face.

Oddly, Elsa noticed that although Bullseye’s unrequested tongue-to-face contact had felt like a natural lick, it didn’t leave the nasty saliva that Elwood had soaked Jessie in. She attributed this to his toy nature, and wondered how far those attributes extended in toys. Could she still make others feel cold, even if she couldn’t shoot out ice?

The group continued onward, pushing open whichever doors weren’t fully closed. “And this room is..,” proclaimed Buzz as he pushed open a door, only to find there wasn’t anything particularly grandiose about the room he was unveiling. “…is the bathroom. Perfect for any… um… you’ll be happy to learn that toys have no use for indoor plumbing.”

Elsa was actually fairly intrigued by the room. The palace had sported a primitive plumbing system that was unfortunately not entirely effective, but for the time had been very impressive. Elsa was slowly grasping that, from her perspective, she was living in the distant future.

“Never mind that room!” cried Jessie. “Come all look over here! We’ve got ourselves the…”

Buzz chuckled as she opened the door. “That’s the grown-up closet. You’re not gonna find anything of interest in there.”

Elsa stepped back to marvel at the site. Put to scale, her palace wardrobe put this closet to shame, but her own miniature size made this closet the Eighth Wonder of the World. Her eyes scanned slowly upward, and she caught sight of some wrapped-up gifts near the top of the closet. And one that wasn’t wrapped yet.

One that was in the same backwards-G Gisney box she had emerged from.

One that contained a very familiar face inside…

“ _Anna_?”


	8. The Storm Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa is subjected to an ethics crisis.

Buzz and Jessie were still chattering to themselves when Elsa spoke. They hadn’t noticed her exclamation, or her mouth dropping open so far it almost struck the floor. It took Elsa stumbling backward, tripping over her own non-ice cape and surprising Bullseye, to catch the duo’s attention. They quickly approached her, asking her what was wrong.

 

“My… my… my _sister_ … my sister is _up there…_ ”

 

Jessie stepped back, perplexed. “Your highness?”

 

“ _Anna_ … in that box…”

 

Elsa raised a finger, and Buzz followed it to the box near the top, which contained a figure of a striking young woman with a fanciful green dress and red hair (not the crayon-red hair of Jessie, but the orange-red of real people that humans described as “redheads”). Buzz couldn’t quite make out any details beyond that, but when he turned to Elsa again he noticed there was a definite resemblance.

 

Jessie looked up, but couldn’t quite follow Elsa’s finger. “I can’t see where she’s pointing, Buzz, do you see…”

 

All of the connections in Buzz’s head fired in an instant.

 

Bonnie’s rants about _Frozen_. Her singing. Her birthday that was now just one day away. Bonnie begging for an Elsa toy, and a toy with a name he had forgotten. Elsa’s early unboxing.

 

_Bonnie’s mother would never give her a toy this important before her birthday… unless there was a second one…_

 

He looked up again. Elsa had a sister. Bonnie had asked for both of them. He remembered her informing her parents you couldn’t have one without the other. They were inseparable.

 

_Inseparable…_

 

Buzz turned back to Elsa, and could see the palpable anxiety on her face. Jessie turned to him, and the look she gave him indicated that she had just come to the same conclusions as he had. Even Bullseye was starting to act nervous.

 

Buzz finally responded. “Elsa...”

 

“ _I HAVE TO GET TO HER_!” Elsa shrieked. “ _I HAVE TO HELP HER! I CAN’T LEAVE HER UP THERE! ANNA!”  
_

Elsa bolted, the desperation overcoming her. The hideous stillness in the princess’ face was too much. Anna was in limbo, just as Elsa had been. She couldn’t let her sister endure that any longer. Anna had spent enough time as a frozen statue thanks to her. Never again…

 

She grasped the bottom of the lowest shelf, and started to pull herself up. Buzz and Jessie were on her in an instant, using all their might to drag the unwilling queen from the closet. They were repaid for their troubles with the ferocity of a wild animal, whose panic had mutated into rage.

 

“ **WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!** THAT IS MY SISTER! HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK TO KEEP ME FROM HER, YOU INHUMAN MONSTERS! LET ME GO, I HAVE TO HELP HER—”

 

Elsa’s face was contorted with fury, her eyes a piercing stare that could chill any human to the bone with far more efficiency that her ice powers ever could. She wanted to freeze them, to make them suffer for stopping her, for trying to keep her from what mattered most. She was concealing nothing anymore. She would do what she must...

 

Elsa spun, breaking Jessie’s grip and surprising her. She grasped the cowgirl’s wrist and yanked her to the ground, with Jessie landing face first onto the hard wooden surface. She turned to Buzz, popping open his helmet and pulling back for a solid blow to his face. Thinking quickly, Buzz stepped on the queen’s cape, causing her to twist and stumble to the side, the back of her head striking the floor.

 

Jessie pulled herself up and stood next to Buzz, watching Elsa slowly recollect her scattered thoughts. The queen lay on the ground for over a full minute, her anger subsiding and her shame and fear reasserting themselves. She rolled over onto her stomach, her head now facing the others. Her eyes were raw, and she felt the sensation of tears running down her face even though she had none. Her voice broke, and she could only manage a weak question. Even still, Buzz and Jessie could still feel the enormity of her pain through her single word: “ _why…._ ”

 

Buzz hesitated, then cautiously approached the whimpering queen. He crouched down in front of her, and waited for her to make eye contact. When she did, he almost wanted to pull his own eyes away, uncomfortable with the torment they expressed. How could he even hope to convince her of what needed to happen?

 

“Elsa, I can’t begin to imagine what you’re feeling right now – I really can’t – but your sister can’t come down today. Bonnie has to open her on her birthday. She’s her big present – you were both supposed to be her presents tomorrow, but she opened you early – and if you open her now, we can’t put her back. We’ll be exposed.”

 

Elsa moaned weakly. “But… what if she just pretends… Bonnie could still open her tomorrow… I can’t leave her stuck inside her head like I was. I can’t.”

 

Buzz replied softly. “Elsa, to remove your sister, we would need to peel all the tape off of her box just to get it open, and after that, we would have to undo probably over twenty different twist-ties. We would never be able to replace those. The box would be obviously damaged, and the best-case scenario would be Bonnie’s family thinking the toy is damaged and sending it back. We’d lose your sister before you spent any quality time with her. Not to mention that, if she’s like you and I, she thinks she’s real. We could never open her up, convince her she’s a toy, and then get her to willingly go back to the box. It’s hopeless.”

 

He concluded by stating that “if you think being trapped inside your head in that box is maddening, just imagine being stuck inside the box when you _are_ aware of everything around you.”

 

Elsa cringed. “I… I know you’re right… but _Anna…_ ”

 

_Oh Anna, what have we gotten into?_

 

She felt the Anna-voice come back. _Just have a little patience, Elsa_. _I waited years for you. Do you think I can’t take one more day?_

_You shouldn’t have to wait one more day for me, Anna. You waited so long. I can’t shut the door on you again._

 

_You’re not shutting me out, Elsa. You didn’t put me in the box. We’re toys, Elsa! You were just born a bit earlier than me, just like before. Tomorrow you get to be my big sister all over again, teaching me all about our new world and our new lives. If you can just wait one more day, we’ll be together again! But if not…_

_But if not, I lose you all over again. I get it. I’m just… I’m so sorry I have to leave you like this, Anna._

_Hey! What did I tell you before! This is your adventure right now! Stop worrying about me, silly, I’ll be fine! You need to go back to being a toy so you can teach me. Now leave me alone so I can get some sleep!_

_You always were a heavy sleeper. I’ll see you tomorrow, Anna._

 

Elsa blinked, and shook herself a little. She looked up at Buzz again and gave a soft smile. “Okay. I understand.”

 

She pulled herself up, catching a glimpse of Jessie. Suddenly the guilt of her previous actions came rushing back to her. “Oh my God. What have I done! I’m so sorry I acted this way – I can’t believe I would ever try to hurt you… and those things I said…”

 

“Hey,” Jessie interrupted. “There’s no need to apologize, your highness. You were only trying to do what you thought was the right thing. You’re still okay in my book.”

 

Buzz patted Elsa on the shoulder. “No one blames you, Elsa.” Bullseye licked her face again and Elsa smiled. She looked up into the closet again and hesitated. Finally she turned to her companions and said, “we should close the door. Wouldn’t want to accidentally leave it open.”

 

So they did.

 

The group gave one last look at the door, but Elsa motioned them onward, and the tour continued. By the time Bonnie came home that day, Elsa had gotten more than her fair share of time exploring the house. Anna was right. She needed to be a toy right now, and she was eager for some fun. Playtime was coming.


End file.
